The Big Questions: Answered By Arianna Huffington

This summer I had the pleasure of meeting Arianna Huffington, creator of the Huffington Post, at a fundraising gala for the Hartford Public Library. She was friendly, warm, inspiring and in a word- Soulful.

Though she could have been all alpha, as the head of one of the most powerful media companies on earth, Arianna was instead focused on our hearts, and how we can reconnect to them in a world where we are always connected to something.

The prolific author wrote the book the Fourth Instinct, that talks about how we should learn to listen to that all knowing and powerful place inside of us. The book was hard to find since it was written in the 90’s but when I expressed interest in reading it, Arianna immediately took note and sent it to me a few days later. I was impressed a casual conversation made it on to her very long to do list. I am reading it and love it. I also love the new App Arianna created called GPS For The Soul. I even got my super hyper co-host Scot Haney to try it and admit he liked it to calm down.

Here’s a link to my story on the app that aired on Better Connecticut.

Each Monday on Better CT, I host a series called Kara’s Cures where I explore our innate abilities to heal, transform and live Better! I am fascinated by the Big Questions in life and I like to hear how wise people answer them.

Here is what Arianna Huffington says about destiny, the afterlife, finding your passion, and getting peaceful.

1. Do you believe in destiny, and if so what does that concept really mean to you?

I believe the things that go wrong are often the very things that lead to other things going right. Understanding this means not letting negative experiences get in our way. And not letting that voice of doubt, which I call the obnoxious roommate living in our heads, have the last word. So whether it’s destiny or not, I don’t know, but we must choose not to let our failures, fears and doubts get in the way of our dreams and goals.

2. You write about the human need to connect to our soul, intuition, the 4th Instinct as it’s called in your book. How do you do this in your daily life?

For me, practicing empathy everyday is the key. In a world facing multiple crises, where we are paralyzed and polarized in our politics, there is an urgent need for us to summon our better angels and master our own gifts of identifying with other people’s feelings. Doing this can be simpler than we think: listening, opening ourselves to the wisdom of others, and widening the circle of our caring.

3. What do you think happens when we die?

If you believe that we are souls having a human experience — as I do — then the soul survives in a realm where, among other good things, there’s no wifi.

6. How do you teach your daughters to connect to their intuition, and more importantly trust it?

I try, whenever I can, to impart to my daughters a little of the experience and wisdom I’ve built up over the years. They are usually receptive! But what’s even more important is encouraging them to dare to take risks and to fail, as many times as it takes, along the way to success. It’s by testing ourselves and stretching our limits that we understand our intuition. Only then can we learn to trust it.

7. What do you wish you could tell the younger you?

Get more sleep!

8. You have created GPS for the soul, how do we use it, and why do we need it?

GPS for the Soul is HuffPost’s “killer app for better living” to gauge the state of your mind, body, and spirit, then automatically offer the steps you need to realign all three. When you tap your phone’s sensor, the app will tell you how stressed you are. You personalize the app with the things that help you de-stress on your own — a guide of music, poetry, photographs, meditation techniques, breathing exercises — and for me, pictures of my daughters when they were young and unproblematic.

Why do we need it? The philosophy behind GPS for the Soul is based on two truths about human beings. First, that we all have within us a centered place of wisdom, harmony, and balance. Second, that we’re all going to veer away from that place, again and again and again. That’s the nature of life. In fact, we may be off-course more often than we are on-course. So what we need is a great course-correcting mechanism, because otherwise the consequences can be serious, in terms of our health, our relationships, our jobs, and even our country.